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The Museum of Cursed Artifacts: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 2 Mar 27An epic haunted house tale that combines the classic supernatural terrors of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House with the fantastical adventure and eclectic ensemble of Night at the Museum.
Reclusive billionaire William Buren spent his life collecting the world’s most cursed artifacts and housing them in his expansive upstate New York mansion. After Buren’s death, his dismayed heirs discover the estate is bankrupt. They have only one path to transform the mansion into the world’s greatest haunted attraction, a Disneyland of horrors, the Louvre of haunted houses.
To give their project credibility, they assemble a team of renowned experts in their respective a cancelled celebrity ghost hunter, a traumatized psychic, a defrocked exorcist, a terminally ill archaeologist, and a controversial physicist. All of them have one thing in they want the pot of gold promised to them at the end of this dark and twisted rainbow.
The assignment is simple. Spend a weekend in the mansion, confirm the authenticity of the artifacts, verify any phenomena, and endorse the museum. In return, a hefty sum for each of them. But the entities contained in these artifacts possess a will, an intelligence, and an agenda of their own. Our protagonists discover they have been chosen by this place, at this time, for a diabolical purpose.
Reclusive billionaire William Buren spent his life collecting the world’s most cursed artifacts and housing them in his expansive upstate New York mansion. After Buren’s death, his dismayed heirs discover the estate is bankrupt. They have only one path to transform the mansion into the world’s greatest haunted attraction, a Disneyland of horrors, the Louvre of haunted houses.
To give their project credibility, they assemble a team of renowned experts in their respective a cancelled celebrity ghost hunter, a traumatized psychic, a defrocked exorcist, a terminally ill archaeologist, and a controversial physicist. All of them have one thing in they want the pot of gold promised to them at the end of this dark and twisted rainbow.
The assignment is simple. Spend a weekend in the mansion, confirm the authenticity of the artifacts, verify any phenomena, and endorse the museum. In return, a hefty sum for each of them. But the entities contained in these artifacts possess a will, an intelligence, and an agenda of their own. Our protagonists discover they have been chosen by this place, at this time, for a diabolical purpose.
- GenresHorror
Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 2, 2027
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Did Not Finish
June 22, 2026DNF at 20%. The premise of an eclectic group of random people navigating the horrors of a dead wealthy owner’s artifacts initially sounded interesting to me. I thought it was giving Knives Out vibes by the description.
Unfortunately, I found the constant shifting perspectives of characters and time frames very confusing to navigate. I expected the horror aspect of this book to shine through immediately and that was not the case. There was way too much backstory for me to follow along. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
Unfortunately, I found the constant shifting perspectives of characters and time frames very confusing to navigate. I expected the horror aspect of this book to shine through immediately and that was not the case. There was way too much backstory for me to follow along. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
June 25, 2026
I ate this book up from the start and could not put it down. It gave me goosebumps while reading it, and I just had to know what was going to happen.
This book gave me serious and Annabelle Comes Home vibes with the Ed and Lorraine Warren occult museum and I loved it! It also reminded me of the Stephen King Rose Red movie.
A reclusive billionaire William Buren spends years collecting the world’s most cursed artifacts and places them in his house. After his death, his heirs quickly realize the estate is bankrupt after he spent all of his money trying to find the artifacts.
They decide to transform the mansion into the world’s greatest haunted attraction, a museum of cursed artifacts. Before doing so, they assemble a team of renowned experts in their respective fields to determine the authenticity of the artifacts and whether or not they are cursed.
The rules are simple. Spend a weekend in the mansion, confirm the authenticity of the artifacts, verify any phenomena, and endorse the museum. Once they do so, they will receive a hefty sum of money each.
The only issue…the entities contained in these artifacts have an agenda of their own.
The author gives insight on why everyone is chosen from the beginning and I think it really helps set the stage for this novel. I also enjoyed the different POVs and could imagine it as a horror movie in my head while reading.
Release Date: March 2nd, 2027
Thank you as always to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an ARC for an honest review!
This book gave me serious and Annabelle Comes Home vibes with the Ed and Lorraine Warren occult museum and I loved it! It also reminded me of the Stephen King Rose Red movie.
A reclusive billionaire William Buren spends years collecting the world’s most cursed artifacts and places them in his house. After his death, his heirs quickly realize the estate is bankrupt after he spent all of his money trying to find the artifacts.
They decide to transform the mansion into the world’s greatest haunted attraction, a museum of cursed artifacts. Before doing so, they assemble a team of renowned experts in their respective fields to determine the authenticity of the artifacts and whether or not they are cursed.
The rules are simple. Spend a weekend in the mansion, confirm the authenticity of the artifacts, verify any phenomena, and endorse the museum. Once they do so, they will receive a hefty sum of money each.
The only issue…the entities contained in these artifacts have an agenda of their own.
The author gives insight on why everyone is chosen from the beginning and I think it really helps set the stage for this novel. I also enjoyed the different POVs and could imagine it as a horror movie in my head while reading.
Release Date: March 2nd, 2027
Thank you as always to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an ARC for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4/5
this was like if episode 13 by craig dilouie was combined with night at the museum.
the book follows 5 paranormal experts with different backgrounds (a priest, a TV show ghost hunter, a psychic, and an archaeologist) who get invited to a home full of alleged haunted artifacts with the goal of proving they are real. the story is told through the POVs of these characters as well as a few more ...
i really really enjoyed this. i love multiple POVs and the author did a really good job differentiating the styles of writing between the chapters. the build up in the first half was stellar and while it did not immediately pay off, the ending was well written. my only real critique is that once the action begins, it drags along slightly and takes a while to pick up into something that feels like it matters. the characters are all 3 dimensional and you get to learn a lot about them, even the characters who may not last the entire book. which is also something i liked! there were real stakes because (sorry, mild spoiler) not everyone makes it out of the house. i recommend this for anyone who liked Episode 13 by Craig DiLouie and anyone who enjoys haunted artifacts!
thank u atria books for providing this ARC thru NetGalley!
this was like if episode 13 by craig dilouie was combined with night at the museum.
the book follows 5 paranormal experts with different backgrounds (a priest, a TV show ghost hunter, a psychic, and an archaeologist) who get invited to a home full of alleged haunted artifacts with the goal of proving they are real. the story is told through the POVs of these characters as well as a few more ...
i really really enjoyed this. i love multiple POVs and the author did a really good job differentiating the styles of writing between the chapters. the build up in the first half was stellar and while it did not immediately pay off, the ending was well written. my only real critique is that once the action begins, it drags along slightly and takes a while to pick up into something that feels like it matters. the characters are all 3 dimensional and you get to learn a lot about them, even the characters who may not last the entire book. which is also something i liked! there were real stakes because (sorry, mild spoiler) not everyone makes it out of the house. i recommend this for anyone who liked Episode 13 by Craig DiLouie and anyone who enjoys haunted artifacts!
thank u atria books for providing this ARC thru NetGalley!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
THE MUSEUM OF CURSED ARTIFACTS is an entertaining horror, and I really enjoyed reading. While I am not normally a fan of books that rotate through the roster of character POVs, this one made it work pretty well. Overall, the diffferent characters' voices were distinct, so you didn't get confused about who was speaking. That being said, I think there are a few chapters from the perspective of a specific "character" that I really didn't need. They were well written, and I can see why they were included, but it kind of shifted me out of the story more than I would have liked. And while the ending was good, After all the buildup of the beginning, it felt a little rushed and maybe a little too easy.
I enjoyed the fact that the book reminded me of several things, like the movie THIRTEEN GHOSTS, and the real haunted object museum in Las Vegas. The nods to paranormal objects and stories I have heard about before were well placed and I think that if you know what is being mentioned, it only enhances the story, but it doesn't detract if you aren't aware of those stories.
Overall, I liked the story and characters, and I liked the ending chapters. Definitely would recommend to fans of horror novels.
I enjoyed the fact that the book reminded me of several things, like the movie THIRTEEN GHOSTS, and the real haunted object museum in Las Vegas. The nods to paranormal objects and stories I have heard about before were well placed and I think that if you know what is being mentioned, it only enhances the story, but it doesn't detract if you aren't aware of those stories.
Overall, I liked the story and characters, and I liked the ending chapters. Definitely would recommend to fans of horror novels.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is a popcorn book. I just couldn't stop reading it. I enjoyed hearing the stories behind the artifacts; it reminded me of the tour scene in Stephen King's Rose Red where the experts were learning about the house. In the case of The Museum of Cursed Artifacts, the experts were already familiar with many of the items and told the stories themselves.
This is one of those horror novels where you know going in most of what is about to happen. You've seen this story play out before, but that does nothing to diminish your need to keep reading. I could physically feel my body tense up through the last half of the book waiting to see if anyone was going to make it out alive. I will definitely be recommending this one to my library patrons.
This is one of those horror novels where you know going in most of what is about to happen. You've seen this story play out before, but that does nothing to diminish your need to keep reading. I could physically feel my body tense up through the last half of the book waiting to see if anyone was going to make it out alive. I will definitely be recommending this one to my library patrons.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book was excellent! It seamlessly blended several types of horror into one gripping story and kept me on my toes from beginning to end. I was constantly turning the pages, eager to find out what would happen next. The writing was incredibly smart, and I found myself genuinely invested in each of the characters and their fates.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll keep the details to a minimum, but this is one of those books that's best experienced without knowing too much going in. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating horror read. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more books by this author in the future.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll keep the details to a minimum, but this is one of those books that's best experienced without knowing too much going in. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating horror read. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more books by this author in the future.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
It is what it says on the tin: standard horror thrills 'n' blood spills.
Characterisations are decent for such a short novel, helped along by the multiple POVs. All characters do fall foul of the "must have a trauma in my past to make me Real And Relatable™️" which, sigh, aren't we all bored of that yet? The house also gets its own little narrations here and there which are fun.
Enjoyable enough for any horror fan to read in a spooky afternoon 🔪
Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Characterisations are decent for such a short novel, helped along by the multiple POVs. All characters do fall foul of the "must have a trauma in my past to make me Real And Relatable™️" which, sigh, aren't we all bored of that yet? The house also gets its own little narrations here and there which are fun.
Enjoyable enough for any horror fan to read in a spooky afternoon 🔪
Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you Netgally for the arc!
The summary of this book and the fact that it's a horror is what initially drew me in. I love horror books in general and have been reading nonstop horrors recently so I'm glad I was able to pick this up. This book was overall pretty entertaining and I enjoyed the multiple POVs, though it could get confusing at times. This was a unique read for me and I liked the plot quite a bit. I also like that this was a rather quick read. There were some parts that dragged a bit but other than that this was a fun read for me.
The summary of this book and the fact that it's a horror is what initially drew me in. I love horror books in general and have been reading nonstop horrors recently so I'm glad I was able to pick this up. This book was overall pretty entertaining and I enjoyed the multiple POVs, though it could get confusing at times. This was a unique read for me and I liked the plot quite a bit. I also like that this was a rather quick read. There were some parts that dragged a bit but other than that this was a fun read for me.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I really, really liked this book! The premise was intriguing, the many artifacts were fascinating, and the scares were plenty. I didn't mind the multiple perspectives at all, and found each character easy to follow along with. I liked our main cast quite a bit, and genuinely worried for them when things started to get scary. Sure there are some corny bits in this story, but there are some real scares as well. Some parts made my skin crawl. This will certainly be one of the most memorable reads of 2026 for me. Great job!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I loved this book! Honestly, the writing was so well done, I felt like I was watching a movie. It felt like a mix of Ed & Lorraine’s occult museum with 13 ghosts! I was hooked from the very first page & didn’t put it down until I read the whole thing. I wouldn’t say this was scary, but suspenseful & I ate it up.
The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars was because I was hoping the ending would’ve been a little longer. Other than that, I would definitely recommend this.
Thank you as always to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an ARC for an honest review!
The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars was because I was hoping the ending would’ve been a little longer. Other than that, I would definitely recommend this.
Thank you as always to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an ARC for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Netgalley ARC- The premise sounded like a great read. However it started going downhill pretty quickly. The shifting character viewpoints was annoying. The supposed horror wasn't much of a scare, more Casper than 13 Ghosts. The ending was basically the ending of the remake of House on Haunted Hill. I hope this author has something else to offer otherwise his career will be over before it starts.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews